Members running intakes please check in

I'm considering installing an
intake on my 3.3 but one thing ive noticed on my past cars is that the
intakes have always given me a loss of low-end torque in city driving. Can you share what
intake youre using and if you noticed a loss in low-end power?

I'm considering installing an
intake on my 3.3 but one thing ive noticed on my past cars is that the
intakes have always given me a loss of low-end torque in city driving. Can you share what
intake youre using and if you noticed a loss in low-end power?

If you've noticed most companies only show
intake dyno charts from 2500rpm onward the ones that have shown lower have some loss on them from what I've seen.

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That's because nearly every dyno in the world - engine or chassis - gives crap numbers below 3,000 RPM just because of how they work. The OEMs can afford much more expensive equipment than the typical tuner and machine shop, although I'm still skeptical of Kia's <1,500rpm rating. You can capture whatever data you want, but if the data is crap, then.....
It's smart to ignore everything below 3,000 and ignore the last 5% to 10% of the run.

Tuning for low (low) end torque on this platform is a poor choice. You can't make the displacement bigger and you can't make the turbos spool from a red light. It is what it is, and that's the way it is for every platform. There's more room up the curve because you can start coercing more air into the engine.

Anyway, if anything, a properly done
intake will lower your IAT in traffic which will make the engine more responsive. The main gains are that the stock
intake under the front trim is super restrictive, so the engine just can't breath at high RPM.

I'm considering installing an
intake on my 3.3 but one thing ive noticed on my past cars is that the
intakes have always given me a loss of low-end torque in city driving. Can you share what
intake youre using and if you noticed a loss in low-end power?

Click to expand...

ALL high flow
intakes move the torque curve higher in the RPM range which technically means a loss in low end power. This is the trade off any
intake system provides, slightly less low end for stronger mid-top end power.

Sealed
intake boxes, or
intakes with long piping have more air restrictions which favors low end power.

I personally have DIY high flow
intakes with very short piping for maximum air flow. In theory mine should have the most significant torque curve change, but I didn’t notice it myself...at first.

Adding
intakes definitely helped throttle response and felt stronger from 2k-6500 but didn’t think it lost low end power. Until I put the stock
intake box back on. I could immediately feel the change at throttle tip-in and what felt like more power at low RPM. It’s actually not more power but again just the power curve starting lower. This felt good until accelerating past 2k RPM which then felt disappointedly flat without the
intakes.

I believe all
intakes available will have the same effects on the power curve and provide a mild loss of low end gusto. Luckily our Stingers have tons of low end torque so I don’t think losing a few ft-lbs would make any difference in city driving.

However, if you’re seriously concerned and want the least low end loss go with the
intake with longest piping. I think SSR may have the longest and possibly least loss of low end power.

Just remember it’s all a trade off with bolt-ons. Less restrictions=Better flow=Higher torque curve=More HP and visa-versa.

My main problem with all the
intakes I have seen is two fold: 1. Metal piping. This looks nice, may sound nice to some, but when heated up, you are actually losing power in the real world. You don’t drive with your hood open like a dyno, and increased temperatures cause lower timing, which reduced much more power than letting a car breathe a bit more CFMs of air.

2. The only
intakes I have seen that still use plastic, don’t pull fresh air from outside of the engine compartment. The ones that do utilize the outside air, require you to remove the shrouding which directs air from the upper grill to the cooler units. While I believe cooling wouldn’t be affected, I do believe aerodynamics would be. Again, I believe aerodynamics at high speed are more important than a couple extra HP.

So, until an air
intake that utilizes non heat-soaking materials and keeps the factory designed parts in place (besides
intake parts) I will keep waiting for one.

I live in AZ, so heat is everything out here. If anyone knows one that does this, please let me know.

My main problem with all the
intakes I have seen is two fold: 1. Metal piping. This looks nice, may sound nice to some, but when heated up, you are actually losing power in the real world. You don’t drive with your hood open like a dyno, and increased temperatures cause lower timing, which reduced much more power than letting a car breathe a bit more CFMs of air.

2. The only
intakes I have seen that still use plastic, don’t pull fresh air from outside of the engine compartment. The ones that do utilize the outside air, require you to remove the shrouding which directs air from the upper grill to the cooler units. While I believe cooling wouldn’t be affected, I do believe aerodynamics would be. Again, I believe aerodynamics at high speed are more important than a couple extra HP.

So, until an air
intake that utilizes non heat-soaking materials and keeps the factory designed parts in place (besides
intake parts) I will keep waiting for one.

I live in AZ, so heat is everything out here. If anyone knows one that does this, please let me know.

Click to expand...

I live in SFL where heat is a huge factor too. Which is why I made DIY
intakes using plastic piping and thermal heat shielding to make a barrier against the engine/turbo heat.
The air surrounding the filters on the one side of the barrier is drastically cooler, and filters are within 1” of the OEM air inlet so cool air is still is drawn from the outside too.

It doesn’t look pretty with the shielding but it makes a huge difference preventing heat soak. Shielding blocks at least 90% of the radiating heat and haven’t felt a loss in power even sitting for a while in 95degree summer sun!

I had your same concerns and did have mild heat soaking without the shielding. I’m now extremely happy and all together only spent about $110 for everything. IMO this is the best of both worlds.

Thanks for all your feedback guys, I'm still a bit on the fence but I think I'm going to eventually order one, worst case I just remove it if I don't like the results.

The main reason I started this thread was because my last car had a N/A v6 with 280hp and 252lbs of torque and the low-end suffered ALOT when I installed a short ram
intake. It sounded magnificent and pulled harder in high rpm but the throttle response and low-end tq suffered when I installed it.